Reviews

First, this is not a joint for dinner, and I don't think it was designed to be. In more European or Latin American fashion, it's a place for hi-end snackies and drinks either before a later dinner, or for late night when dinner had been pre-empted by a big lunch, say. So keep things in perspective. If you go there to fill up, you will spend a lot of money, and that's not how a tasting room works, anyway.

We ordered charcuterie and a cheese plate, as well as some greens. If price is no consideration, then this is top-notch food. I must admit, though, that it's pricey for what you get, with a capital P. We had smily, helpful service, and unlike another poster here, we had lots of bread refills. Admittedly, the server knew pretty much nothing of the wines, nor could he recommend a pairing. "They're all pretty good," he said. Well, no duh - for, like, half a day's wages per bottle, I should hope so!

I will go back, but the price prevents me from frequent returns. It was about $250 for 4 of us including tax and tip, though we ordered much and drank 2 bottles of wine.

Only real complaint? The night we went, the benches and chairs had no cushions. It was uncomfortable to sit there for long. Dunno if they've done anything 'bout that...

Many reviews on here complain of the service. I guess I was lucky at the take-out window - the fellow was chatty and pleasant.

However, I, too, got a premade crepe with some hazelnut slapped over top - folded and thrown in a bag. If you can't make fresh, why be in the food industry??

It certainly was not hot, and the worst part was it was pully/chewy/rubbery. I'm not talking in a tasty, nice, fresh way that most gluten products have, but in that "it was hot and now it's not" way. I am a big aficionado of quality crepes, and I've had heavenly experiences.

This was NOT one of them, and I was deeply offended by the food quality.

We were seated in the dining section closest to the bar area; the smell of washroom odour-control mints was SO strong that I wanted to leave right away. We got another table a bit later, and then I saw the menu. I really wanted to go somewhere else, but where do you go in a city that closes between 6 & 6:30pm?

Cocktails came - my partner's = "Apple", mine = "Pomegranate" - hey, they were not bad!
My partner's squid salad (just fried calamari, really) was very good, and I have to say, I found the burger to be excellent. The fries were perfect, and I like that it came with salad too. We also had the coconut chocolate lava cake, which *would have* been divine, but for the top being ever-so-slightly overdone. Overall, no big complaints on the food front for us.

The service was generally pretty friendly, if a bit dismissive; it certainly wasn't great. Long waits for service, and an unreasonably long wait for dessert.

The ambience works at some level (kind of cozy, kind of hip, intimate), and it doesn't work on another (deafening when packed, too intimate with other diners, could be oh so much more if they added a splash of elegance.)

I'll go back to try some other stuff, but the jury's still out for me.

When we arrived at 9:30am, the restaurant was empty. Maybe that should have told me something.

The server was friendly and professional, and the coffee was pretty tasty, if not a bit under-hot.

We both ordered 2 eggs o/e, with sausages. It comes with your typical complement of toast'n'browns. We also ordered a fruit bowl to share.

My eggs were burned around the edges, and one of the yokes was broken. They were really greasy. The toast was cold and floppy - really, really floppy from being soggy. The hashbrowns were basically potato skins chipped off a potato, and then deep fried - but it seems to me they'd been deep fried to be reheated, maybe from the day before, because they were as hard as little pebbles. I'm not talking crispy - I'm talking HARD like plastic. The sausage was butterfly-cut, which I don't like personally, but that's just my preference. It was overly fried.

The fruit bowl was full of over-ripe honeydew and canteloupe, and had over-ripe blueberries. The pineapple was ok.

When the server asked, "How is everything?" and I said it was "ok", she replied, "It's good, then! Ok, great!" and walked away. Hmm... She was good otherwise, though.

I will never go again, and I would never recommend anyone go. 2 bad breakfasts and a fruit bowl to share cost nearly $30, and if it wasn't the worst breakfast I've ever had, it was within the top two.

We arrived around 9:30. The kitchen was closed we were told by an uninterested waitress, but they could make a pizza if we "really" wanted them to. (Shoulda taken this as a warning?)

We ordered a couple of pizzas and some wine. All 4 of us bit into our first slices, and after a few minutes, we all observed none of the others had continued eating. We hadn't been able to eat the pizza - none of us.

We talked about what was wrong - until I realized it.
"Does this remind you of those frozen McCain pizzas?" I asked the group.

That seemed to hit the nail on the head... everyone agreed readily. "Yes, yes! That's it!" they said. "It tastes like frozen pizza!"

We complained to the waitress, who reacted with something like, "Oh really? That's nice."

I don't know in the end if it was frozen or not. But for the price, I expected better.

It's true what mimi666 says - as a Steveston local, we don't usually eat here, just because it generally *is* for tourists, with a couple of notable exceptions (Steveston Pizza, Kisamos...)

The Point is neither high class nor casual dining. Its food is presented well enough and has some nice flavours. We tried Thai prawns as an appy and it was quite nice. Our mains were satisfying and well executed. We were given good service.

But that's all I can say... it was a night that was not particularly memorable for being great or bad. I get the same neutral sort of "that was ok" feeling from going to a number of bland-ish, Canada "explores the world in a menu", "a little something for everyone" kind of place.

-Oysters with parmesan 'air' - tasted of the sea.
-Grilled camembert - not oily, and paired with pickled vegetables to balance the fat of the cheese.
-Risotto with aromatic herbs and pheasant - the pheasant is to add protein, structure and substance to the risotto (not the other way 'round)
-Aged beef, pickled mushrooms for contrast, and a sauce to highlight the Cab Sauv., whose tannins soften in chewiness of the beef (which is not supposed to be served hot)
-Baked apple creme brulee - tart to punctuate cream...
-Souffle that is literally melt-away in your mouth.

If you are a foodie, and you *get it*, then you'll get Connor Butler and what he's trying to do.

Delilah's is one of the few places that I truly believe you get what you pay for.

Yes, it's expensive, granted. But the service is prompt. It's knowledgeable. It's friendly. But most of all, it's *professional*. There are so many places around town in which the servers don't give a damn. In Delilah's, the servers KNOW what they're doing, and it's delivered sans attitude.

I agree with a couple of the other postings that the service is snotty.

"We are choosing not to honour 1/2-price Tuesday pasta tonight - it's a holiday," we were told with an air of "if you don't like, then you can just piss-off." We were cool with their "rules" - why did they have to be like *that*?

The food took FOR-EV-ER, let me emphasize that, though the place was pretty empty when we arrived.

The pasta was ho-hum. Not offensive, just not memorable.

The bill was too high to put up with the service, the wait, and the mediocre food.

The service was professional. The ambience was fine. The food was good.

I would definitely have gone back here - except for the prices. Once again, this is an establishment which asks you to pay for... the name (?), the location (?), the concept (?), the plane ticket for the food to be shipped from Romania (? - yeah right).

I have the means to pay. I have the will to pay. You cannot expect something for nothing. But when you charge me $9 for a single lamb skewer? Or the platter (loaded with fries, perogies, salad and veggie kebabs) for $40-something? Puleeze.

Overall, we had a good experience. We did enjoy ourselves. But the food and prices didn't match the service and ambience.

My lamb couscous was ok. The lamb tasted good, but I found the sauce was not sufficient for the couscous, which absorbed it all quickly - rendering the dish dry.

My fellow diners were NOT impressed with the mussels - neither the Congolais version, nor the white wine version. Comments were that the sauces did not allow the mussels to play a role in the dish.

Appies and desserts were good. Not outstanding.

I have no qualms spending big money for good food. For the food you get, it's big money. I think similar prices can get you far superior culinary experiences. My impression is that the food concept takes the piss a bit - i.e. it takes its own name, Chambar, as a high-end brand and charges accordingly. But as for me, I've never been impressed with something just because it's expensive.

Coffee = cold from being poured into a cold cup.
Food = cold from being presented on a cold plate.
When I say cold, I don't mean "off-hot". I mean COLD. Warming a plate for service of hot food is pretty basic food prep.

Hash browns = deep fried. Not a lot of effort in that.
Hollandaise = NOT hollandaise. Since egg yolks are the base of hollandaise, this sauce is supposed to be yellow. Mine was white heavy cream, microwaved.
English muffins = not toasted. So cold.
Bacon = ok.
Eggs = poached, but with whites still a bit runny.

Yet another restaurant that obviously hired just anyone, and that anyone doesn't know basic cooking.

Before entering, look at the menu. You can see a little splash of favourites from all over Asia that appeal to the typical western palate.

It's not that the dishes themselves aren't authentic - for each one we tried *was*, by itself. But the combination of menu items, and presentation method are not.

It's all good... if you were born and raised in a home not of an Asian background and you are afraid to venture out of western comfort zones, then you can congratulate yourself on being *ahem* "adventuresome" by visiting the Red Door.

Having said that...
There is nothing worse than a restaurant that takes itself too seriously. The pretentious service, the "LOOK! WE'RE ASIAN!" decor, and even the bizarre pseudo-cartoon / Calgary-food-court-esque dragon on the menu makes me ask, "Who are you trying to convince?"

In the end, though the dishes were well-prepared and tasted good, no single one was 'best-of-breed', meaning that although the Singapore curry noodles were very good, for example, you can get better elsewhere, rendering this restaurant not worth a return visit (unless you really need Kung Pao chicken with your naan and pad thai...)

I mean, come on. This is Vancouver - the city with arguably the best selection of Asian cuisine in Canada if not N. America... why Red Door?

We finally had a service experience consistent with those of other reviewers.

Having been seated for only 5 minutes, it became apparent that the other tables around were full of irate customers. Something was wrong. Food was coming late / wrong / you name it. Uh-oh...

The bottle of wine is delivered not by our server, and sits unopened there for a while. Our exceedingly dismissive and disinterested server needs to be called over to open it.

After 40 mins of no bread / no salad, I asked the server if the salad might be on its way. "We have a salad runner who'll bring it." She walks back to the bar where she's socializing and sipping a drink !? I didn't ask about the delivery method, now, did I?

Salad comes about 15 mins after that, no bread. "We're out" the salad runner explains. We were starving, and greens after an hour alone don't cut it. But pizza and other bread-related products are being served a-plenty. ?!

We get our meals after an eternity, and are told by the "dinner runner" (I guess) that there's no bread. We wait 3 or 4 mins, and there's no black pepper, cheese or chilis offered, which normally comes simultaneously with the meal presentation. My friend has had enough - he gets up, and grabs the stuff himself, upon which our server runs over and asks how everything is - though we clearly haven't taken so much as a bite. She doesn't offer to finish the black pepper service our friend has begun, either.

My buddy decides he's going to make an issue of "no bread". He gets into an argument with the server (it probably would've been ok if not for the other stuff), who tells him to stop talking and "listen". My friend hands her the dish, tells her to take it back, and he's not eating.

Persian culture and cuisine is represented appropriately by the rose. Beautiful, elusive, and short-lived. We've found good Persian food over the years, and none seems to last more than 18 ~ 24 months. Here's hoping...

Shalizar was recommended to us by Persian friends, and it did not disappoint. The meat was juicy and succulent. The appies were REALLY good - DO try the olives in walnut paste - homemade right in the restaurant. Wow!

One in our party of four wanted fish 'n chips (go figure!) instead of koobideh, chenjeh or ghormeh sabzi - his taste of the sea came nicely done, hot, and fresh. Hm!

Well. We've hardly missed a Sunday in *years*. Pat, the manager who tends bar, is an amicable guy. The staff are highly competent. The food is great for a pub.

But...

It all started last month. The food took a decidedly bad turn. We didn't finish some food once, and Pat bent over backwards giving us free stuff, didn't charge us for our meals, and apologized. We were astonished at how great they were about it.

Having been busy for the past few weeks, last nite was our first time back since. The servers are ALL different, and Pat, who's been a permanent icon there, wasn't behind the bar. Hmmm.... new management?

The service was beyond horrible.

Tables weren't served food in the sequence they ordered.

Asked for tabasco; 5 mins later, got it ourselves. 15 mins later, the girl comes by with some, and gives us a chilly glare.

We waited a 1/2 hour for beer.
We ordered 16 wings, got 10. When we pointed this out, we were told 'they're backed up in the kitchen, but 6 more are coming.' You can't make 16 together??? What's with that? But when our dinner was well over, and it was obviously time to go, we cancelled the other 6 wings. Sheesh. The girl never apologized, nothing. "Oh," she says. "You don't want the other 6 now."

But this is what clinched it: While complaining amongst ourselves about the bad service, the table next to ours asked for the manager and had a SLEW of complaints.

The manager (the new bartender) started to argue with them! The manager accused the lady of stirring up trouble, and ended the conversation with, "if you don't like us, you can take us to court." Wha!?!?

We were going to pipe up too, but then decided nah... it's not worth it. We'll vote with our feet. They have pub food and beer all over the place. No need to pay to feel unhappy, right?